12. Fort Rucker, Southeast Alabama
In early 1942, a site in the southeastern corner of Alabama selected by the Army for a training facility received the designation of Ozark Triangular Division Camp. The less than snappy name became Camp Rucker before the site opened in May, 1942. In late summer of the same year, additional land acquired to create an airfield for the camp, was named Ozark Army Airfield, a name it kept until 1959. Camp Rucker served as a training facility for infantry, at the division level and for smaller units, throughout the war. It also trained replacements bound for duty in both Europe and the Pacific, and provided training for Women’s Army Corps recruits.
Camp Rucker also served as a prisoner of war camp for Italian and German POWs during the war. Inactivated following World War II, it returned to service during the Korean War. Basic training for replacements sent to Korea was provided by the 47th Infantry Division of the Minnesota National Guard through most of the Korean War. The Army renamed the camp Fort Rucker in 1955. Since 1973, Army aviation training has been centered at Fort Rucker, and helicopter pilots and crews from other services and allied nations have been part of the role of the post. Former Tennessee Senator and Vice President of the United States Al Gore spent part of his Army service at Fort Rucker.